The modern rhythm of life does not leave a minute of free time. To-do lists, work and personal: get more done today so you can do even more tomorrow. We won’t last long like this. Daily creative activity can help reduce stress levels. At the same time, the presence of creative talents and abilities is not necessary.
It doesn’t matter if you draw, dance or sew — any activity in which you can show your imagination is good for your health. No wonder the Chinese sit for hours over hieroglyphs, and the Buddhists paint colorful mandalas. These exercises relieve stress better than any sedative and can be compared with meditation in terms of the degree of impact.
Psychologists from Drexel University (USA), led by art therapist Girija Kaimal, investigated the impact of creativity on health and mental well-being1. The experiment involved 39 adult volunteers aged 18 to 59 years. For 45 minutes they were engaged in creativity — painted, sculpted from clay, made collages. They were not given any restrictions, their work was not evaluated. All you had to do was create.
Before and after the experiment, saliva samples were taken from the participants and the content of cortisol, the stress hormone, was checked. A high level of cortisol in saliva in most cases indicates that a person is experiencing severe stress, and, conversely, a low level of cortisol indicates a lack of stress. After 45 minutes of creative activity, the content of cortisol in the body of most subjects (75%) decreased markedly.
Even beginners feel the anti-stress effect of creative work
In addition, participants were asked to describe the sensations they experienced during the experiment, and it was also clear from their reports that creative activities reduced stress and anxiety levels, and allowed them to escape from worries and problems.
“It really helped to relax,” says one of the participants in the experiment. — Within five minutes, I stopped thinking about the upcoming business and worries. Creativity helped to look at what is happening in life from a different angle.
Interestingly, the presence or absence of experience and skills in sculpting, drawing and similar activities did not affect the decrease in cortisol levels. The anti-stress effect was fully felt even by beginners. In their own words, creative activities were a pleasure, they allowed them to relax, learn something new about themselves, and feel free from restrictions.
It is no coincidence that art therapy is used as one of the methods of psychotherapy.
1 G. Kaimal et al. «Reduction of Cortisol Levels and Participants’ Responses Following Art Making», Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 2016, vol. 33, № 2.